Helping a Friend
by PinkAngel17
Summary: Set immediately after 'Latent Image'. The Captain is sick, but will someone be there to help her now that she's helped the Doctor? Written for the VAMB 'Writing Extravaganza'. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I own nothing even remotely related to Star Trek Voyager.

A/N: My first VAMB challenge fic and also my 50th story! It picks up where the episode 'Latent Image' left off. Hope you like it!

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><p>Chakotay stood outside the holodeck waiting for Tuvok to come out. He had a feeling that the vulcan security officer would be leaving without the Captain. If he knew Kathryn she'd insist on staying in there with the Doctor just for a bit longer, which would turn into hours and very possibly even days if someone didn't drag her out…or lure her out with coffee.<p>

He also knew she needed rest though. This morning, when he'd seen her as she was heading for the holodeck to take her shift with the Doctor, he had noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the way she rubbed her jugular as if soothing a sore throat. She hid it well, but after spending so much time in close proximity with a person you learn to tell when they're not feeling well.

Which was why he was here. He'd planned on going in there himself to take over for her, but as he had approached the holodeck Tuvok walked up from the opposite direction, obviously having the same idea he'd had. After a brief discussion in which they vaguely alluded to their Captain's stubbornness and dedication, Tuvok had willingly volunteered to take over the 'Doctor watch' so she could get some needed sleep and therefore be more prepared for her duties as Captain. Chakotay had simply smiled and nodded, not bothering to voice how the vulcan simply wanted to help the Captain and was in fact worried about her health.

They both knew Kathryn probably wouldn't go easily though, so they silently agreed that he'd try if she turned down Tuvok's offer. Sure enough after only a couple of minutes the holodeck doors slid opened and Tuvok stepped out into the corridor. Alone.

"Go on back to the bridge, Tuvok. I'll take care of it." He stated once the doors snapped closed once more.

Tuvok studied him impassively for a moment, a single eyebrow raising, before he nodded his consent and carried on down the hall. Chakotay watched him leave and once the vulcan faded from view around a corner he turned towards the doors. But then stopped, his fingers hovering over the command panel that would open the doors.

Somehow he had the feeling he should wait. After all, he wouldn't want Kathryn to think he and Tuvok were planning things behind her back again. So instead he let his hand drop back down to his side and took his position of standing next to the doors to wait. He'd give her a bit longer, maybe a few minutes, just in case she was using Tuvok's visit to her advantage and helping the Doctor.

About seven or eight minutes ticked by and he was just about to go in when the doors to his right swished opened. He stood up straight and turned to face the Captain who, upon seeing him, stiffened her back and began eyeing him suspiciously. Not that he could blame her. She'd come out of a 16 hour watch with the Doctor just to find her First Officer standing outside waiting.

"Just how long have you been standing there?" She asked, an eyebrow quirking along with the corner of her lips.

He smiled, watching as she gave him a knowing look. "Not long."

"Uh huh…." She muttered and he had no doubt that she had figured out exactly how long he'd been there given how long it'd been since Tuvok had dropped by.

"Do I need to…" He began, nodded towards the holodeck.

Janeway followed his gesture and gazed at the doors with furrowed brows, a partially concerned yet hopefully look in her eyes. After a few seconds she shook her head and looked back up at him. "No, I think a little time alone will do him some good….give him a chance to read." She added with a small, half smile and knowing look.

He wasn't sure what she meant by that statement, but it seemed she knew what she was doing. Besides, there were other things he would much rather be taking care of than a brooding Doctor.

"Tuvok's on the bridge." He began as she messaged her neck, her glazed eyes slowly flicking up to meet his. "So I thought maybe we could get some dinner." He wasn't all that hungry, having eaten only a couple hours ago, but he knew she had yet to eat dinner or lunch and before she went to bed she needed to eat a little something at least.

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of a hot bath and then turning in for the evening." She stated, letting her hand fall to her side tiredly.

"Alright, you get a bath and I'll fix us something to eat." He smiled innocently, only the barest hint of a teasing glint his eyes as he watched her hopefully.

"Chakotay…" She chuckled, shaking her head even as an amused smile spread across her face.

"Kathryn…." Chakotay interrupted, letting a bit of his concern leak into his expression. "Even the best admirals in Starfleet occasionally take a break to eat. Besides do you really want to insult me by rejecting my famous vegetable soup?"

Janeway raised an eyebrow, a smirk lifting the corner of her mouth upwards as she watched him and silently debated her options. "Well, I wouldn't want to insult my First Officer. Dinner it is."

Chakotay grinned, stepping to the side and playfully offering her his arm to which she rolled her eyes, but placed her suspiciously cold hand on his arm anyways as they began walking to her quarters.

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><p>Chakotay placed the pot of soup in the center of the Captain's dinner table and glanced towards the bathroom where Kathryn had been hibernating for the last half hour. He was beginning to grow a bit concerned at the lack of life signs coming from in there, but then again he knew from New Earth just how much she enjoyed her baths. Given the chance she'd probably submerge herself in water for hours at a time until she was completely consumed by the bubbles.<p>

Of course he couldn't fault her that. Everyone needed a way to relax. Kathryn's refuge just happened to be bubble baths and coffee. However, he didn't want her soup to get cold because the warm broth would help ease her sore throat.

He walked over to the replicator and picked up the two soup bowls sitting there along with the two glances of orange juice he'd replicated and took them back to the table. Once everything was ready he casually made his way over to the bathroom door and leaned close to see if he could hear anything.

There wasn't a sound coming from the other room which caused the worry knot in his stomach to slightly increase, but he still paused for a minute. He really didn't want to interrupt her bath, but he also knew she needed a decent meal if she was going to fight off this cold.

So he brought his hand up and rapped his knuckles against the door. "Kathryn." He called after a few seconds of continued silence. He knocked again, this time harder. "Kathryn? Everything alright in there?" Still no response.

He hesitated just another moment before the 'worried best friend' part of him won out and Chakotay found himself tapping the side panel to open the door. Slowly he took a step inside, listening for any sign that his entrance was unwanted, and glanced around the room.

It was a bit foggy with built up steam and he could smell a hint of something he couldn't identify, but recognized as coming from a candle sitting near the bathtub. The bathtub….as soon as his eyes landed on it he stopped in his tracks and just stared.

Kathryn, no the _Captain _he reminded himself, was laying under the water. Her head just barely above the water's surface and leaned back against the tub while the few bubbles that were left hid the majority of her body from his view. Except her legs. The lower half of them were near the surface and her feet were propped up on the edge of the bathtub, giving him a generous view of skin that her uniform would normally hide away.

It suddenly felt very hot in the small bathroom and the sudden warmth had nothing to do with the steam. He could feel his eyes widening as they stayed locked on the form that seemed completely relaxed.

Chakotay wasn't exactly sure how long he stood and stared, but the raspy cough that suddenly echoed through the room managed to break his hypnotic trance. He cleared his throat, shifting his weight to his other foot, and immediately averted his eyes.

"Captain?" He asked, nearly cursing himself at the way his voice came out sounding strained and tight. When she didn't answer he glanced back up, making sure to keep his eyes above her neck. His brows furrowed in concern as he realized she was asleep. Or at least he hoped she was just asleep and not something worse.

Looking around he spotted a towel on the sink and a silk robe hanging by the door. He quickly grabbed both and then closed the gap to the bathtub before bending down beside it. "Kathryn." He called softly, gently brushing a strand of hair out of her extremely pale face. His fingers just barely grazed her skin, but even in that brief contact he could tell she had a fever. "Kathryn, wake up." He tried again, letting his hand cup her cheek.

He watched as her eyes slowly began to open, just enough so he could tell she was waking up, but he doubted she could actually see much. "Chakotay." She whispered tiredly.

She was obviously still half asleep and Chakotay couldn't help but feel honored and even proud that she felt comfortable enough to let herself be this exposed. Normally she had shields raised even during sleep when there were others near by, as if ready to go to red alert in a moments notice if she thought it necessary.

"You have a fever." He stated while running his fingers through her short hair soothingly.

"Mmm, my head feels like it's going to split open." She murmured, bringing a hand up to rub her forehead.

Chakotay had to force his eyes to stay focused on her face instead of trace the drops of water that were slowly sliding down her bare arm before falling delicately into the bubbles covering her….

_Damn it!_

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for just a second before once again focusing on her face. He reminded himself that she was sick, had a fever and a headache and was obviously exhausted so she really didn't need him leering at her while laying naked under those bubbles…the bubbles that were melting away one by one….probably because of the raw heat radiating from him.

"Let's get you to bed." He said, mostly to himself since she seemed to be dozing off again. He looked around the bathroom for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to get her out of the bathtub without invading her privacy anymore then he already had.

When he looked back at her he noticed she was once again messaging her temples. Maybe if she could stand up and wrap the towel around herself then he could do the rest. He stood, picking up the towel as he went and unfolded it. "Kathryn, I have a towel here for you. Do you think you could…." Before he finished the sentence his Captain, best friend, and secret focus of many fantasies began to stand from the water.

He immediately looked down at his feet, counting tribbles in his head in an attempt to distract himself from the naked woman now standing in front of him and reaching for the towel. Just as the imaginary tribbles were growing long, silky legs that were suspiciously familiar, Kathryn calmly took the towel from him and wrapped it around herself.

Chakotay swallowed past the lump in his throat and took a step back as the Captain moved to step out of the tub. He bent down and picked up the robe before holding it out for her to slip on over the towel, all the while forcibly kicking away those images of the gorgeous, wet, and very naked Kathryn Janeway out of his head.

He watched as she tiredly tied the belt and noticed then that the circles under her eyes had gotten darker and that she was shivering just slightly. "You should probably lay down before you fall over." He murmured softly, placing his hand on her back and gently guiding her out of the bathroom.

"I'm fine, Chakotay." She stated, waving him off, but he didn't miss how she seemed to weave a bit as if she were dizzy or how her voice sounded as raspy as her cough had earlier.

"Uh huh…." He replied simply as they made their way into her bedroom. He didn't comment about how she willingly walked over to the bed and slowly eased down onto it as soon as they entered the room. He figured it didn't matter what he said because as far as she was concerned she'd always be 'fine' as long as she was still breathing.

Once he saw that she was under the blanket and at least semi-comfortable he left the room to quickly retrieve a bowl of soup and glass of orange juice to bring back to her. By the time he returned she was already dozing off again. It wasn't really much of a surprise considering the circumstances. This cold was obviously making her tired and then add on the fact she'd been on 'Doctor watch' for over 16 hours straight and had also been busy the last few days while she tried to sort through the Doctor's memory fiasco. He hadn't even seen her much in the last 48 hours which was saying something considering they lived on a small ship and their quarters were so close it was hard not to run into each other so often.

But, no matter how tired she may be, she still needed to get some food on her stomach. He slowly sat on the edge of her bed, placing the orange juice on the night stand, and then gently shook her shoulder to wake her up.

Once her eyes were pried open he noticed just how glossy they were and almost distant as if she weren't completely conscious. "You should eat a little something." He stated quietly, trying not to aggravate her headache any more then necessary. "Please." He added when she opened her mouth in what was obviously going to be a 'I'm not hungry'.

She studied him for a moment, her face not changing it's expression, but her eyes becoming just a bit more focused on him. After a few seconds passed she began pushing herself up into a sitting position and then leaned back against her pillow so she could take the bowl he was passing to her.

As he watched her tiredly lift the spoon he contemplated just reaching over, taking the spoon, and feeding her. However he was almost certain she wouldn't like that very much, especially considering the glint of determination in her eyes as she lifted the spoon to her mouth again.

Only a couple of minutes passed before she let the spoon drop into the still half full bowl to indicate she was finished. She didn't eat much, but at least it was something. He nodded and took the bowl from her lap without saying a word before standing and handing her the glass of orange juice for her to sip on while he took the bowl to be recycled.

"Chakotay…." Her voice was soft and filled with exhaustion, but also still held that familiar firm edge he'd grown accustomed to. He stopped just before he was about to walk out of the room and turned to look back at her. "Thank you." She said, letting a bit of emotion leak into the expression to let him know that she really was appreciative.

He smiled, simply enjoying that he was able to help her and more importantly, that she was _letting_ him help her. He didn't really need thanks. He'd do anything to make her feel better. Actually there were times he'd do anything just to see her smile one of those real smiles that lit up her face and brought a twinkle to her eyes that was usually hidden behind the 'Captain's mask'. Now if only he could get her to realize that.

"Anytime, Kathryn." He replied with a tender look on his face as he looked her straight in the eyes as if trying to convey his sincerity.

Once she nodded minutely and looked away he turned and continued his way out of the room. He quickly cleaned up, putting the soup up to save for later, before returning to the room after just a few minutes.

When he walked in he saw her laying on her side, facing the night stand, with the blanket pulled up tightly around her shoulders and her eyes closed. Chakotay walked over, intending to just get the glass on the night stand, but instead he found himself staring down at her as she slept.

He could tell she was still shivering even under the blanket and her eyebrows were furrowed as if in pain. Glancing around he saw a small throw blanket folded neatly in a chair. Picking it up, he then spread it out over her, making sure to tuck it in around her shoulders and feet.

She was still shivering, but before he could do anything else she started coughing. It was a tight, raspy sounding coughing fit that seemed to shake her entire frame with each separate cough.

Quickly, without really putting much thought into it, he walked around the bed and climbed in behind her, not bother to get under the covers. He scooted over until his chest was pressed against her back and he wrapped an arm around her in hopes of easing the discomfort and also to give her a little bit more body heat.

Amazingly enough it worked. Once her coughing fit eased off she buried her head in the pillow and the shivering began to fade away as well. In fact one of her hands snuck out from under the blanket and entwined itself with his as if drawing comfort from the simple contact.

He couldn't have left even if he wanted to, which he didn't. Instead he used the toes of his right shoe to wedge the other shoe off and then carefully pushed off the right one while making as little movement as possible so he didn't wake Kathryn. He then tightened his hold around her, incidentally burying his face in the back of her head in the process, and enjoyed the peaceful security he was feeling as he let himself drift off to sleep.

"Good night, Kathryn." He whispered into her hair, knowing she probably couldn't hear him. "Hopefully you won't kill me in the morning, my love."

With that he pressed a soft kiss to the skin just below her ear before nuzzling his nose back into her hair and dozing off. He didn't notice how the Captain's eyelids popped open when he uttered '_my love_' in a voice so adoring and so tender that it made her eyes widen. He also didn't notice how her grip on his hand tightened or how her heart began beating just a bit faster.

And he was asleep by time Kathryn formed a coherent response. "Thank you….my love." She whispered into the darkness of night.

With that her eyes closed once again, a small contented smile gracing her face as she shifted closer to his warm chest. She hoped, no….she _knew_ this wouldn't be the last time she had this opportunity. It was obvious now that she'd experienced it, that this was where she was meant to be. For the first time in a long while, Kathryn Janeway found a peace that etched itself onto her very heart.

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><p>AN: So? What did you think?


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